^ 

A^.. 


■> 


IMAOE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


Ui  1^   |Z2 


7] 


.»•> 


'/ 


Fkjtographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIIT  MAIN  STtHT 

WnSTn,N.Y.  MSM 

(7l6)t73-4S03 


4^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  IVIicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notaa/Notes  tachniquea  at  bibllographiquaa 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibllographically  uniqua. 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproductlon,  or  which  may  aignificantly  changa 
tha  uauai  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


□ 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


|~n    Covara  damagad/ 


Couvartura  endommagte 


Covara  reatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurAa  at/ou  pallicul6a 


r~1   Covar  titia  miaaing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  mapa/ 

Cartaa  gAographiquaa  en  coulaur 

Coloured  init  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  qua  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plataa  and/or  iliuatrationa/ 
Pianchea  at/ou  iliuatrationa  an  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relit  avac  d'autrea  documenta 

Tight  binding  may  cauae  ahadowa  or  diatortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrte  peut  cauaar  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
diatortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  laavaa  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  poaaibia,  theae 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  se  peut  que  certaines  pagea  blanchea  ajouttea 
lore  d'une  restaur,  tion  apparaiaaant  dana  la  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  ttait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
paa  6tA  filmtea. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentairas  suppitmentaires: 


L'Inatitut  a  microfiimA  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  4t4  poaaible  de  aa  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  aont  paut-Atre  unlquaa  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographiqua,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
aont  indiqu6a  ci-daaaous. 


I      I   Colourad  pagea/ 


m 


X 


D 


Thia  item  la  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  fiikiit  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiquA  ci-deaaoua. 


Pagea  da  couleur 

Pagea  damaged/ 
Pagea  andommagtos 


r~n   Pagea  reatorad  and/or  laminated/ 


Pagea  reataurAea  at/ou  paliiculAea 

Pagea  diacoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pagea  dAcolortea,  tachetAes  ou  piqu6es 


□Pagea  detached/ 
Pagea  ditachtea 


Showthrough/ 
Tranaparance 


I      I   Quality  of  print  variea/ 


Quality  intgala  de  I'lmpreaaion 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprand  du  material  aupplAmantaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  diaponible 


Pagea  wholly  or  partially  obacured  by  errata 
aiipa,  tissuea,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Lea  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  it*  filmiea  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtanir  la  mailleure  image  poaaible. 


Th« 
tol 


Thi 
poi 
ofl 
fliiv 


Orii 
bafl 
the 
aioi 
oth 
fira 
aioi 
or  I 


Thfl 
aha 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff 
anti 
bai^ 
rigli 
raq 
mai 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

2SX 

30X 

A 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

The  copy  filmed  here  hee  been  reproduced  thenke 
to  the  generoelty  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  fllmA  fut  reprodult  grice  A  la 
gAn^rosltA  de: 

La  bIbliothAque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  end  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Las  Images  suivantes  ont  tt€  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet*  de  rexemplaire  flimA,  at  en 
conformiti  avec  ies  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  In  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  lest  page  witii  a  printed  or  Illustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  originel  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  lllustroted  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplalres  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  fllmAs  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  termlnant  soit  par  la 
derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'Impresslon  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplalres 
originaux  sont  fllmte  en  commengant  par  ia 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreeslon  ou  d'lllustration  et  en  termlnant  par 
la  darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  ia 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  ie 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signlfie  "A  SUIVRE ',  le 
symbols  ▼  signlfie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  cherts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  In  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  es  meny  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diegrems  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  csrtes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fllmte  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reprodult  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  fllm6  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  geuche.  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  heut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcesssire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

uVUu 


®l)e  iditi)  of  tl)e  Unitarian  (Eljristmn  €jtplamclr, 
Ittstifielr,  anlr  JDistinguieljclr. 


DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED    AT 


THE    DEDICATION 


or 


THE    UNITARIAN    CHURCH, 


ON   SUNDAY,   MAY   11,   1845. 


By  EZRA   S.    GANNETT, 

MiniSTEa    OF    THE     PSDERAIi    STREET    CHURCH,    BOSTON. 


Published  by  request. 


BOSTON: 

WM.   CROSBY    &   H.   P.    NICHOLS. 

118  Washington  StreeU 

1845. 


PRINTED    BY    ANDRKWS,    rBENTISS    AND    STUDLEV, 
DEVONSHIllE    STREET. 


I 


Unitarian  Cliurch,  Montreal. 


Tablet  in  front  of  Churcb. 


* 


« 


i 


4 


f 


;:i 


DISCOURSE. 


2  Corinthians  iv.  13. 

WE  UAVINO  THE  SAME  SPIRIT  OP  FAITH,  ACCORDING  AS  IT  IS  AVRIT- 
TEN,  1  BELIEVED  AND  THEREFORE  HAVE  I  SPOKEN,  WE  ALSO  BELIEVE 
AND   THEREFORE    SPEAK. 


i 
f 


We  have  assembled  to  dedicate  a  building  to  the 
uses  of  Christian  worship.  It  is  not  an  unusual  oc- 
currence in  this  city.  Ifet  it  can  never  take  place 
without  interesting  many  hearts,  and  claiming  some 
attention  from  a  community  who  wish  that  good 
morals  and  Scriptural  piety  should  prevail  among 
them.  Some  measure  of  sympathy  even,  it  misfht 
be  thought  on  the  naked  statement  of  the  purpose  im: 
which  we  have  met,  would  be  felt  by  such  as  should 
learn  that  another  edifice  would  now  be  added  to  the 
number  of  those  which  are  designed  to  extend  and 
deepen  the  influence  of  religion,  in  a  metropolis 
abounding  with  the  temptations  of  secular  engage- 
ment and  worldly  pleasure.  But  there  is  this  pecu- 
liarity in  our  present  dedication,  that  most  of  the 
citizens  of  this  place  probably  look  with  unkind  or 


G 


doubtlul  regards  upon  the  services  which  we  cele- 
brate. Many  good  people  would  account  it  a  duty 
rather  to  discourage  than  to  assist  the  enterprise  of 
which  this  structure  reminds  them,  and  of  the  success- 
ful prosecution  of  which  it  aftbrds  an  indication,  if  not 
an  assurance.  Crowds  of  ignorant  though  honest, 
and  yet  other  crowds  of  ignorant  and  dishonest  per- 
sons, and  still  others  whose  prejudice  or  opposition 
cannot  seek  a  shelter  behind  their  ignorance,  as 
they  look  upon  these  walls,  will  find  no  pleasure  in 
the  sight.  They  who  have  built  this  house  have 
studied  no  concealment.  They  have  placed  upon  its 
front  the  word  "  Unitarian,"  though  it  be  offensive 
to  many  eyes,  and  by  some  observers  be  deemed  a 
contradiction  of  the  title  of  "  Christian  "  with  which 
it  has  been  united  in  the  same  inscription. 

The  circumstances  under  which  we  have  entered 
these  doors  seem  therefore  to  determine  the  course  of 
remark  which  is  most  suitable  to  the  occasion.  The 
dedication  of  the  first  avowedly  Unitarian  church  in 
British  America  almost  requires  of  us  that  we  explain 
and  justify  ourselves  in  such  a  step.  When  there  are 
so  many  other  houses  of  public  worship  in  which  the 
members  of  this  society  might  have  found  opportuni- 
ties of  religious  service,  and  so  many  other  names 
under  which  they  might  have  arranged  themselves  in 
the  division  of  the  Christian  forces,  why  have  they 
thought  it  necessary  to  erect  a  sanctuary  bearing  the 
distinctive  name  of  Unitarian  ?  What  is  the  import 
of  this  name  ?  What  are  the  reasons  for  adopting  it  ? 
And  what  are  the  differences  which  it  indicates  be- 
tween the  worshippers  here  and  those  who  gather 


J 


•  • 


I 


.    'i 


5t 


around  other  altars  ?  These  arc  questions  that  natur- 
ally arise  ;  and  in  answering  them  1  believe  that  I 
shall  more  directly  meet  the  wants  of  the  present  hour, 
than  if  I  should  discourse  of  the  propriety  or  the 
character  of  Christian  worship  in  general. 

According  to  my  ability  then  would  I  speak  on 
these  points  —  the  truths,  the  justifications,  and  the 
differences  of  Unitarian  Christianity ;  —  by  invitation 
from  this  society,  but  not  with  any  authority  except 
such  as  belongs  to  honest  private  conviction,  and  a 
somewhat  large  acquaintance  with  the  opinions  enter- 
tained by  other  Unitarian  believers  here  and  else- 
where. They  have  no  accepted  creed  which  I  may 
quote,  no  formularies  of  faith  nor  symbolical  books 
which  they  recognize  as  containing  the  only  accredit- 
ed exposition  of  their  views,  and  no  ecclesiastical 
body  from  which  such  an  exposition  might  emanate. 
The  right  and  duty  of  personal  inquiry,  which  are  the 
elementary  principles  of  their  religious  state,  preclude 
any  attempt  to  utter  other  than  private  persuasions  or 
the  impressions  which  a  wide  and  careful  observation 
may  have  given.  Such  observation  will  lead  any  one 
to  a  knowledge  of  certain  great  doctrines  which  are 
held  in  common  by  Unitarians  in  America  and  in 
Europe,  and  will  show  that  they  accord  in  respect  to 
the  grounds  of  their  belief,  and  in  their  dissent  from 
many  popular  representations  of  the  Gospel. 

What  are  the  truths  of  Unitarian  Christianity? 
What  do  Unitarians  believe  ?  This  is  the  first  ques« 
tion,  and  it  is  one  which  thousands  might  ask  under  a 
profound  ignorance  even  of  the  nature  of  the  reply 
that  would  be  given.     So  little  pains  have  been  taken 


« 


to  lenrn  what  wo  really  hold  as  truth,  and  so  great 
misapprehension  prevails,  that  the  simplest  statement 
of  our  faith  may  not  he  out  of  place.  We  believe, 
then,  in  God,  as  the  Supreme,  Perfect,  and  Infinite 
Being,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth.  Author  of  all  life, 
Source  of  every  blessing,  Searcher  of  hearts,  and 
Judge  of  men.  We  believe  in  his  universal,  constant, 
and  righteous  providence,  through  which  alone  the 
frame-work  of  the  creation  and  the  processes  of  ani- 
mate or  inanimate  existence  are  sustained.  We  be- 
lieve in  his  moral  government,  which  he  exercises 
over  all  beings  endowed  with  intellectual  or  moral 
capacities,  and  which,  as  it  is  riglitfully  exercised,  so 
is  inflexibly  administered.  We  belie:  in  his  paternal 
character,  in  which  he  has  been  pleased  to  reveal 
himself  to  our  admiration  and  love ;  a  character  which 
never  shows  him  to  us  as  weakly  indulgent  or  capri- 
ciously tender,  but  as  always  consistent  with  his  own 
perfections  while  full  of  parental  regard  towards  men. 
We  believe  in  the  requisitions  of  duty  which  he  has 
promulgated,  by  which  are  laid  upon  us  the  obliga- 
tions of  outward  and  inward  righteousness,  and  it  is 
made  incumbent  on  us  to  cultivate  purity,  devotion, 
disinterestedness,  and  the  harmonious  expansion  of 
our  nature,  that  the  result  may  be  an  excellence  which 
shall  redound  to  the  glory  of  God.  We  believe  in  his 
mercy,  which  enables  him,  without  impairing  the  in- 
tegrity of  his  government  or  subverting  the  original 
conditions  of  his  favor,  to  forgive  the  penitent  sinner 
and  admit  the  renewed  soul  to  an  inheritance  of 
eternal  life.  We  believe  in  his  revelations,  which  he 
has  made  by  those  of  old  times  who  spake  as  they 


■^ 


were  moved  by  the  lioly  spirit  —  Moses  and  the  Di- 
vinely inspired  teachers  of  tl»e  Jewish  people,  and  in 
n  later  age  hy  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  his  lovo  and 
the  Messenger  of  his  grace.  Wo  believe  that  God  is 
one  in  every  sense  in  which  the  term  can  be  applied 
to  him  —  one  in  nature,  in  person,  in  character,  in 
revelation;  and  therefore  we  are  Unitarians.  Wo 
believe  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  —  the  Anointed  and 
Sent  of  God,  whose  truth  ho  proclaimed,  whose 
authority  ho  represented,  whoso  love  ho  unfolded; 
and  therefore  we  are  Christians.  We  believe  that 
Jesus  Christ  came  on  a  special  mission  to  our  world 
—  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  save  the  sinful,  and  to 
give  assurance  of  immortality  to  those  who  were  sub- 
ject to  death;  that  such  a  Teacher  and  Redeemer 
was  needed ;  that  he  spake  as  never  man  spake,  lived 
as  never  man  lived,  and  died  as  never  man  died. 
We  read  the  history  of  his  life  with  mingled  admira- 
tion and  gratitude.  We  are  moved  by  his  cross  to 
exercises  of  faith,  penitence  and  hope.  We  rejoice  in 
his  resurrection,  and  celebrate  him  as  Head  of  his 
Church,  the  authoritative  Expounder  of  the  Divine 
will,  the  faultless  Pattern  of  the  Christian  character, 
the  Manifestation  and  Pledge  of  the  true  life.  We 
believe  that  man  is  a  free  and  responsible  being, 
capable  of  rising  to  successive  heights  of  virtue,  or  of 
falling  into  deeper  and  deeper  degradation ;  that  sin 
is  his  ruin,  and  faith  in  spiritual  and  eternal  realities 
the  means  of  his  salvation ;  that  if  he  sin,  it  is  through 
choice  or  negligence,  but  that  in  working  out  his  own 
salvation  he  needs  the  Divine  assistance.  We  believe 
that  man  in  his  individual  person  is  from  early  child- 
2 


10 


hood,  through  the  force  of  appetite,  the  disadvan- 
tage of  ignorance,  and  the  strength  of  temptation, 
Hable  to  moral  corruption ;  that  social  life  is  in  many 
of  its  forms  artificial,  and  in  many  of  its  influences  in- 
jurious; and  that  both  the  individual  and  society 
must  be  regenerated  by  the  action  of  Christian  truth. 
We  believe  that  all  life,  private  and  public,  all  human 
powers  and  relations,  all  thought,  feeling,  and  activity, 
should  be  brought  under  the  control  of  religious  prin- 
ciple and  be  pervaded  by  Christian  sentiment.  We 
believe  that  piety  is  the  only  sure  foundation  of  moral- 
ity, and  morality  the  needed  evidence  of  piety.  We 
believe  that '  perfection  from  weakness  through  pro- 
gress '  is  the  law  of  life  for  man ;  and  that  this  law  can 
be  kept  only  where  an  humble  heart  is  joined  with  a 
resolute  mind  and  an  earnest  faith.  We  believe  that 
men  should  love  and  serve  one  another,  while  all  love 
the  Heavenly  Father,  and  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  to  a 
common  glory.  We  believe  in  human  immortality, 
and  a  righteous  retribution  after  death;  when  they 
who  have  lived  in  obedience  or  have  reconciled  them- 
selves to  God  through  sincere  repentance  shall  enter 
upon  a  nobler  fruition  of  life,  while  they  who  have 
been  disobedient  and  impenitent  shall  realize  the  con- 
sequences of  their  folly  in  shame  and  suffering.  We 
believe  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, as  containing  the  authentic  records  of  God's 
wonderful  and  gracious  ways,  seen  in  the  history  of 
his  ancient  people,  and  in  the  miraculous  works  and 
Divine  teachings  of  Jesus  and  his  Apostles ;  and  to 
these  Scriptures  we  appeal  as  the  decisive  authority 
upon  questions  of  faith  or  duty,  interpreting  them  in 


4 


11 


van- 
tion, 
nany 
;s  in- 
iciety 
truth, 
iiman 
tivity, 
prin- 
We 
noral- 
We 
I  pro- 
lw  can 
fvith  a 
le  that 
.11  love 
IS  to  a 
rtality, 
1  they 
them- 
enter 
have 
le  con- 
We 
Testa- 
God's 
itory  of 
ks  and 
and  to 
ithority 
hem  in 


f 


the  devout  exercise  of  that  reason,  through  which 
alone  we  are  capable  of  receiving  a  communication 
from  Heaven.  We  beheve  in  the  Christian  Church, 
as  a  consequence  of  the  labors  and  sufferings  by 
which  Christ  has  gathered  unto  himself,  out  of  many 
nations  and  communions,  "  a  pecuhar  people,"  em- 
bracing his  Gospel  and  cherishing  his  spirit  —  the 
Church  on  earth,  with  its  ministry,  its  ordinances  and 
its  responsibihties,  the  anticipation  and  promise  of 
the  Church  in  heaven. 

Such  are  the  prominent  truths  of  Unitarian  Christ- 
ianity, I  conceive,  as  held  by  those  who  adopt  this 
name  as  the  designation  of  their  faith,  and  who,  how- 
ever they  may  disagree  on  questions  of  inferior 
moment,  would  probably  concur  in  this  exhibition  of 
the  articles  of  their  belief. 

And  now  what  need  is  there  that  we  should  enter 
upon  a  vindication  or  defence  of  such  a  faith  ?  Does 
it  not  carry  its  own  justification  in  the  elements  of 
which  it  is  composed  ?  Does  it  not  sound  right  ? 
Does  it  not  look  right?  Has  it  not  the  aspect 
and  savor  of  truth  ?  Does  not  reason  approve,  and 
Scripture  sanction  it?  We  can  answer  these  ques- 
tions in  but  one  way.  We  are  satisfied  that  ours  is 
a  correct  faith,  of  which  we  need  not  be  ashamed, 
but  in  which  we  may  glory  before  men,  and  by 
which  we  may  hope  to  obtain  eternal  salvation.  Yet 
to  many  ears  and  eyes  it  wears  a  suspicious  character. 
It  is  not  the  popular,  the  prevalent,  the  "  Orthodox  " 
faith.  Strictly  orthodox,  as  we  contend,  emphati- 
cally Evangelical,  these  titles  are  deemed  inapplica- 
ble to   it  by  most  of  the   Christian  denominations 


12 


I'M 


by  which  we  are  surrounded.  They  account  it  as  at 
best  grievously  defective,  if  not  radically  unsound. 
We  are  driven  therefore  to  the  necessity  of  proving 
that  we  hold  the  essential  and  sufficient  truths  of  reli- 
gion. And  I  must  now  proceed  to  give  such  a  reply 
as  the  time  will  permit  to  the  second  question  we 
proposed  to  answer  —  what  are  the  grounds  on  which 
we  rely  for  the  justification  of  our  belief. 

First,  1  remark,  it  finds  justification  in  our  nature ; 
as  both  the  capacities  and  wants  of  this  nature  pro- 
nounce in  its  favor.  Let  me  however  anticipate 
here  an  objection,  with  which  we  are  familiar,  —  that 
the  acceptableness  of  our  views  of  religion  to  a 
depraved  nature  is  a  proof  of  their  falsehood.  It  is 
not  of  the  tastes  of  a  depraved  mind  or  the  tendencies 
of  a  corrupt  heart  that  we  speak,  but  of  inherent, 
indestructible  characteristics  of  the  nature  which  God 
has  given  us,  and  of  necessities  which  arise  out  of  the 
constitution  imposed  by  o.r  Creator.  The  human 
being  and  the  Christian  religion  came  from  the  same 
Source.  They  must  be  suited  to  one  another,  for 
Christianity  was  intended  by  its  infinitely  wise  Author 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  humanity.  Unless,  therefore, 
we  recognise  a  correspondence  between  our  religion 
and  our  nature,  we  conclude  against  God,  imputing 
to  him  a  defective  performance  of  his  gracious 
designs.  Is  not  this  to  "  charge  him  foohshly"  and 
ungratefully  ? 

Of  the  capacities  which  consciousness  reveals  to  us 
let  us  select  two,  —  one  of  which  marks  us  as  rational, 
and  the  other  as  religious  beings ;  for  no  one  will  deny 
that  we  are  capable  of  religious,  as  of  intellectual  exer- 


lii 


13 


as  at 
3und. 
Dving 
"  reli- 
reply 
•n  we 
which 

iture ; 
e  pro- 
cipate 
—  that 
to   a 

lb     lO 

lencies 
herent, 
^hGod 

of  the 
human 
e  same 
»er,  for 
Author 
erefore, 
reUgion 
nputing 
[racious 

»  and 

ds  to  us 
rational, 
rill  deny 
lal  exer- 


•■> 


3 

i 


cises.  Take  then  he  rational  faculty;  and  let  it 
examine  the  truths  .  hich  we  have  just  repected.  Is 
there  one  which  it  would  not  approve  ?  Not  one,  we 
confidently  affirm.  There  is  nothing  here,  at  which 
reason  need  be  or  would  be  oftended,  nothing  at 
which  it  must  "  stand  aghast,"  or  from  which  it  must 
turn  away  in  contempt.  If  this  seem  but  small  praise 
to  bestow  on  a  religious  system,  let  it  be  remembered 
that  as  much  cannot  be  said  for  all  the  theology  in  the 
Christian  world.  As  we  look  over  the  history  of 
opinion  in  the  Church,  we  esteem  it  no  slight  recom- 
mendation of  the  views  which  we  entertain,  that  they 
harmonize  with  the  conclusions  to  which  reason  is 
brought  by  a  study  of  the  works  and  ways  of  God, 
and  the  constitution  and  sitsiation  of  man.  But 
farther,  not  only  is  each  article  of  our  belief  when 
separately  considered  such  as  reason  may  accept  with- 
out injury  to  its  prerogative  of  distinguishing  between 
what  is  worthy  and  what  unworthy  of  reception,  but 
there  is  no  contradiction  or  inconsistency  between 
these  articles.  Each  finds  support  in  every  other,  and 
each  gives  support  to  all  the  rest ;  yet  not  through  an 
artificial  arrangement,  but  from  the  harmony  that 
always  prevails  among  the  different  portions  of  truth ; 
which,  like  the  disjoined  members  of  a  perfect  figure, 
when  brought  together  are  seen  to  belong  to  each 
other.  Now  we  cannot  but  value  our  faith  for  this 
sentence  of  approbation  which  reason  is  compelled  to 
pass  upon  it,  for  we  do  not  believe  that  revelation  was 
intended  to  put  such  an  affront  on  that  faculty  which 
was  the  greatest  previous  gift  of  the  Creator  to  man, 
as  would  be  implied  in  disregarding  its  decisions. 


14 


If  now  we  turn  to  the  religious  element  in  human 
nature,  we  find  that  it  demands  just  such  opportun- 
ity of  exercise,  such  encouragement,  guidance  and 
help,  as  are  presented  to  it  in  the  exhibition  we  have 
made  of  the  Divine  character  and  of  the  relations  of 
the  Supreme  Being  to  his  children  on  earth.  Where 
shall  piety  find  an  Object  to  whom  it  may  rise,  even 
from  the  dust,  in  grateful  confidence,  if  not  in  the 
Father  whom  it  is  our  privilege  to  portray  in  terms 
which  we  think  authorised  by  his  chosen  Messenger  ? 
Again,  the  moral  is  intimately  associated  with  the  reli- 
gious part  of  our  constitution ;  whence  shall  this  draw 
instruction  so  suitable  and  adequate,  at  once  so  tender 
and  so  stringent,  as  from  the  exposition  we  give  of 
duty  ?  How  can  the  conscience  be  quickened  to  a 
faithful  performance  of  its  work  more  directly,  than 
by  the  language  we  use  respecting  the  obUgation 
of  personal  righteousness?  Or  what  motives  can 
be  addressed  to  the  will  more  persuasive,  than  those 
which  are  embraced  within  our  representations  of  the 
dependence  of  honor  and  happiness,  both  here  and 
hereafter,  upon  character  ? 

So  does  the  Gospel  as  interpreted  by  Unitarian 
believers  justify  itself  to  the  capacities  of  our  being. 
But  there  are  also  deep  wants  in  this  nature  of  ours  — 
wants  which  religion  alone  can  relieve.  It  is  needed 
for  the  protection  of  our  frailty,  for  the  satisfaction  of 
our  best  desires,  for  the  comfort  of  our  sorrows ;  and  in 
respect  to  the  demands  which  each  class  of  these 
wants  makes  upon  a  true  religion,  Unitarian  Chris- 
tianity fulfils  the  conditions  required  of  it.  How  it 
assuages  the  grief  of  the  mourner  by  its  revelations  of 


f 


^ 


15 


•A 


'■i>: 


:i 


Divine  love,  of  spiritual  discipline,  and  future  blessed- 
ness, or  how  it  offers  to  our  purest  desires  the  satis- 
factions which  God  and  heaven  alone  can  give,  needs 
no  illustration.  I  will  only  speak  of  the  necessities 
which  follow  upon  the  exposure  of  such  a  nature  as 
this  which  we  inherit  to  the  incidents  and  influences  of 
an  earthly  life.  The  consequence,  as  we  see,  is  sin ; 
not  because  we  are  naturally  wicked,  but  naturally 
weak.  We  need  to  be  kept  from  falling  by  means  of 
truths  which  shall  stand  around  our  souls  like  heavenly 
guards ;  and  when  notwithstanding  their  presence  we 
have  fallen,  we  need  friendly  voices  that  shall  save  us 
from  despair  and  restore  us  to  our  former  position. 
Others  may  regard  this  as  the  last  claim  which  we 
should  presume  to  urge  in  favor  of  our  interpretation 
of  Christianity,  but  we  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  in  its 
behalf,  that  it  is  preeminently  suited  to  meet  the  wants 
of  man  as  a  frail  and  sinful  being ;  alike  as  it  reveals 
to  him  the  origin,  and  the  remedy  of  his  state.  It  tells 
him  that  he  is  a  sinner  because  he  chooses  to  be  one, 
it  sets  before  him  the  guilt  of  such  voluntary  estrange- 
ment from  God,  and  it  opens  to  him  the  conditions  of 
a  mercy  large  enough  for  the  greatest  of  sinners. 
Behold  here  that  union  of  reproof  and  pity  which 
must  be  most  effectual  for  the  end  which  it  contem- 
plates. 

The  time  does  not  allow  me  to  expand  this  argu- 
ment as  I  could  desire.  Its  importance  entitles  it 
to  consideration ;  for  as  in  the  material  creation  the 
wonderful  adaptations  which  we  discover  bespeak  a 
Divine  Author,  so  the  admirable  fitness  of  the  religion 
of  the  New  Testament  to  the  beings  for  whom  it  was 


i 


IG 


given  is  a  proof  of  its  superhuman  origin,  which  has 
been  justly  insisted  on  by  Christian  writers,  but  the 
full  force  of  which  can  be  felt  only  where  the  true 
features  of  the  revelation  are  discerned.  Whether  on 
the  one  hand  we  look  at  man  as  a  being,  the  intellect- 
ual, social  and  spiritual  elements  of  whose  constitution 
require  culture,  or  on  the  other  hand  as  a  being  whose 
appetites  and  infirmities  call  for  means  of  restraint,  or 
again  as  a  being  whose  history  includes  that  terrible 
fact  of  sin  which  gives  a  new  aspect  to  all  his  relations 
and  creates  a  before  unknown  class  of  wants,  the  most 
urgent  which  he  can  feel,  we  perceive  in  the  truths 
and  influences  of  our  faith  just  that  supply  of  direction, 
assistance,  and  redeeming  grace  which  is  needed. 
His  intellect  finds  the  loftiest  exercise  alike  for  its  dis- 
cursive and  its  meditative  powers ;  his  social  affections 
are  led  forth  to  the  happiest  results  by  the  constraint 
of  that  law  of  love  to  which  they  are  subjected ;  his 
spiritual  faculties  obtain  the  freedom  and  elevation 
which  they  crave ;  his  animal  propensities  are  placed 
under  the  discipline  of  an  habitual  self-denial ;  his 
infirmities  receive  aid  or  admonition  as  they  may 
require  ;  and  for  the  evils  which  sin  has  brought  upon 
him  provision  is  made,  equal,  and  more  than  equal  to 
all  the  necessities  of  which  it  has  become  the  fruitful 
source. 

But  I  must  leave  any  farther  illustration  of  this 
point,  to  notice  a  second  ground  of  confidence  in  our 
theological  statements.  They  are  founded  upon  Scrip- 
ture. We  take  our  faith  from  the  Bible.  Unitarian 
Christianity  is  the  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament. 
We  find  it  there  on  every  page,  and  we  find  there 


(•'. 
xi 

■i)' 


nl 


W 
1 


17 


I  has 

the 
true 
ix  on 
Uect- 
ution 
^hose 
rit,  or 
srrible 
ations 
)  most 
truths 
jction, 
ceded, 
its  dis- 
ections 
istraint 
jd;  his 
evation 

placed 
al;  his 
3y  may 
it  upon 

qual  to 

fruitful 

of  this 
e  in  our 
n  Scrip- 

nitarian 
stament. 
id  there 


•^ 


nothing  which  suggests  to  us  a  different  exposition  of 
the  Divine  will.  It  is  common  indeed  to  deny  us  this 
occasion  of  rejoicing,  and  to  charge  upon  us  irrever- 
ent or  violent  treatment  of  Scripture.  We  repel  the 
charge  as  wholly  false.  It  is  upon  the  testimony  of 
the  sacred  volume  that  we  plant  ourselves,  as  on  a 
sure  foundation.  The  Bible  is  in  our  favor  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  An  English  writer  whose  works  are 
just  now  in  great  repute  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
has  remarked,  in  a  sentence  whose  rhetorical  point  is 
a  poor  compensation  for  its  audacious  falsehood,  that 
"to  be  a  worthy  member  of  the  Unitarian  or  rather 
Socinian  community,  a  man  must  be  prepared  to 
reject  nine-tenths  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
whole  of  the  New  !  "  "  Nine-tenths  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament !  "  On  what  page  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  is 
there  a  line  that  asserts  any  other  doctrine  than  the 
absolute  unity  of  the  Divine  Nature  ?  Where  from 
Moses  to  Malachi  —  where  from  the  history  of  the 
creation  to  the  last  words  of  Jewish  prophecy  —  is 
there  an  intimation  that  God  exists  in  three  persons, 
or  that  Christ  was  an  Infinite  Being  ?  The  Jews 
discovered  no  such  doctrine  during  the  centuries  in 
which  they  A^ere  the  sole  possessors  of  these  sacred 
books.  And  if  the  principles  of  sound  interpretation, 
which  are  observed  in  regard  to  every  other  book  in 
the  world  by  any  person  laying  claim  to  intelligence 
or  honesty,  be  followed  in  the  perusal  of  the  Bible, 
not  a  passage  can  be  brought  thence  which  militates 
with  our  faith.  "  The  whole  of  the  New  Testament " 
must  be  "  rejected !  "  When,  if  there  be  a  collection  of 
Unitarian  writings  on  earth,  it  is  what  has  there  been 
3 


18 


given  us  by  Evangelists  and  Apostles.  1  wish  not  to  use 
cautious  or  equivocal  language  on  this  subject,  for  we 
have  a  right  to  speak  in  the  most  positive  terms.  The 
whole,  (1  make  no  exception  of  a  tenth  or  a  twentieth 
part,)  the  whole  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
must  be  misconstrued  to  yield  any  other  than  a  Unita- 
rian interpretation. 

Does  any  one  demand  proof  of  this  declaration,  so 
bold,  1  am  aware,  as  it  may  be  esteemed  by  others, 
but  so  obviously  true  as  it  appears  to  us  ?  The  proof 
could  be  furnished  in  detail  only  by  examining  every 
text  in  the  Bible.  To  such  a  trial  of  the  correctness 
of  the  assertion  we  shall  always  rejoice  to  see  it  sub- 
jected, but  this  is  not  the  time  for  such  an  investigation. 
1  can  only  remark,  that  we  place  a  two-fold  reliance 
on  the  support  which  Scripture  gives  to  our  views ; 
first,  as  its  general  tenor  is  clearly  and  strongly  in 
their  favor;  and  then,  as  particular  passages  —  num- 
berless in  amount  —  confirm  the  impressions  which 
we  derive  from  the  prevalent  complexion  of  thought 
and  style  of  expression.  Let  an  unbiassed  reader  take 
up  the  Bible  for  the  first  time  and  peruse  it  carefully, 
without  commentary  or  friend  near  him  to  suggest 
what  it  ought  to  mean,  and  the  conviction  would  grow 
stronger  upon  him  as  he  proceeded  from  writer  to 
writer,  that  they  knew  nothing  about  Trinitarianism, 
or  many  other  doctrines  which  we  have  discarded  from 
our  theology.  Let  him  then  fall  upon  such  passages 
as  these,  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  thy  God  is  one 
Lord ; "  "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know 
thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou 
hast  sent ; "  "  To  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father, 


iii 


I 


''if 


19 


use 

'■« 

'  we 

m 

The 

'(f' 

tieth 

V. 

Tient 

4 
4 

nita- 

n,  so 

.'A 

4 

thers, 

1 

proof 

every 

1 

ctness 

.'7 

t  sub- 

;ation. 

liance 

ifi 

views ; 

1 

gly  in 

^£ 

-num- 

4' 

which 

jt 

lought 

■' ,>'.'. 

iv  take 

refuUy, 

suggest 

d  grow 

riter  to 

ianism, 

-A  from 

assages 

is  one 

it  know 

>m  thou 

i 

Father, 

1 

.ll 

and  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,"  —  and  these  are  speci- 
mens of  innumerable  similar  declarations,  —  and  what 
judgment  could  he  form  but  that  the  Bible  recognizes 
the  distinction  on  which  we  insist  between  Him  who 
alone  is  God  and  him  who  is  the  Mediator  between 
God  and  man.  We  stand  by  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible 
stands  by  us.  We  love  and  honor  the  Bible,  without 
which  we  should  live  in  darkness,  and  die  as  the 
lleadiens  die.  Precious  volume !  whose  meaning 
the  wisest  cannot  exhaust,  yet  the  simplest  may 
comprehend ;  book  of  books ;  treasure  of  treasures ; 
source  and  summary  of  all  good  influences !  Never 
may  the  hour  come  when  wc  shall  cease  to  cling  to 
the  Bible ;  for  then  shall  we  give  up  the  main  justifi- 
cation of  our  faith,  and  be  thrown  upon  a  fathomless 
sea  of  doubt. 

We  adduce  the  testimony  of  our  nature,  as  in  its 
various  elements  —  whether  we  consider  its  power 
or  its  weakness  —  it  proclaims  the  validity  of  our 
interpretation  of  religious  truth;  and  we  cite  the 
whole  instruction  of  Scripture,  whether  contemplated 
in  its  general  character  or  examined  in  detail,  as 
concurring  in  the  same  result.  To  add  only  one  other 
ground  of  confidence  in  the  opinions  which  we  hold, 
they  prove  their  title  to  the  estimation  we  bestow  on 
them  by  the  effects  which  they  have  produced.  It 
may  not  become  us  to  cite  our  own  experience  on 
this  point,  —  to  speak  of  the  restraint  they  lay  upon 
our  passions,  the  stability  they  impart  to  our  princi^ 
pies,  or  the  peace  with  which  they  fill  our  hearts. 
We  cannot  press  the  argument  in  this  form,  for 
we  feel  how  unworthily  we  have  used  the  grace  of 


20 


1 


God  which  he  has  shown  in  bringing  us  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  himself  through  his  dear  Son.  But  we  may 
refer  to  those  who  have  lived  and  died  in  this  precious 
faith.  We  have  seen  —  the  world  has  seen  —  what 
Unitarian  Christianity  can  do  for  man;  how  it  can 
inspire  him  with  a  Divine  energy,  and  clothe  him  in  a 
heavenly  grace,  and  prepare  him  for  a  glorious  futu- 
rity. There  have  been  examples  of  great  excellence 
under  almost  every  phase  of  belief  which  has  been 
known  in  the  Christian  Church ;  for  they  have  all  in- 
cluded enough  of  truth  to  become  "  a  savour  of  life 
unto  hfe"  to  them  who  have  believed.  But  never 
have  nobler  or  purer  examples  of  the  Christian 
character  been  witnessed,  than  have  arisen  beneath 
the  influences  of  that  "  form  of  sound  words " 
which  distinguishes  —  painful  rather  than  pleasant  it 
is,  to  say,  still  distinguishes  —  us.  From  the  days  of 
the  Apostles  to  our  own  time,  through  the  successive 
periods  of  Christian  history,  there  have  never  been 
wanting  those  who  have  been  confessors  of  this  faith, 
worthy  to  be  numbered  among  God's  elect.  Amidst 
abundance  and  in  poverty,  under  the  sunshine  of  pros- 
perity and  beneath  the  darkest  night  of  adversity,  have 
lived  those  who  have  illustrated  this  faith,  and  shown 
its  power,  whether  to  protect  or  to  support  the  soul. 
Men  of  a  true  spiritual  nobility  and  women  of  a 
heavenly  charm  have  traced  all  that  was  good  in  them 
and  all  that  was  beautiful  to  their  confidence  in  the 
truths  of  Unitarian  Christianity.  They  who  have  de- 
parted in  peace,  or  have  triumphed  over  every  obsta- 
cle and  every  disaster,  have  drawn  from  this  armory 
the  weapons  with  which  they  have  achieved  the  last, 


I 


!     I 


21 


owl- 
may 
:ious 
what 

can 
I  in  a 
futu- 
lenco 
been 
[ill  in- 
of  life 
never 
ristian 
eneath 
rords  " 
isant  it 
lays  of 
cessive 
r  been 
s  faith, 
Amidst 
)f  pros- 
;y,  have 

shown 
le  soul. 

n  of  a 
in  them 
e  in  the 
lave  de- 
y  obsta- 

armory 

he  last, 


if, 

■A 


I 


% 


as  all  their  previous  victories.  It  is  a  sad  mistake,  tc 
suppose  that  only  porsons  of  a  refined  or  speculative 
turn  of  mind  can  (!  scover  in  this  system  of  faith  what 
is  congenial  to  their  tastes  or  needful  for  their  wants. 
I  call  it  a  system,  let  me  observe,  for  though  we  give 
it  no  systematic  arrangement  under  which  it  may  be 
imposed  on  human  consciences,  yet  such  an  arrange- 
ment it  must  obtain  in  the  mind  of  every  thoughtful 
disciple.  But  not  to  men  of  thoughtful  or  retired 
habits  alone  is  it  adapted.  The  humblest  and  plainest 
of  England's  population  whom  Richard  Wright  on  his 
missionary  tours  visited  in  their  rural  homes,  and 
the  lowest  among  the  inhabitants  of  a  busy  me- 
tropolis in  the  United  States  whom  the  ministry-at- 
large  has  searched  out  and  gathered  into  the  fold  of 
Christ,  can  attest  the  efficacy  of  these  doctrines.  Nor 
is  it,  on  the  other  hand,  less  unjust  to  represent  this 
faith  as  one  which  can  recommend  itself  only  to 
persons  of  little  intellectual  force  or  spiritual  discern- 
ment. This  latter  objection,  you  will  perceive,  is 
overthrown  by  the  former,  but  both  are  contradicted 
by  facts.  When  such  men  as  Socinus  and  Servetus, 
Newton  and  Locke,  Priestley  and  Wakefield  and 
Buckminster  and  Channing  have  cherished  these 
tenets  of  an  unpopular  theology,  it  is  idle  to  call  it 
a  religion  only  for  gross  or  indolent  minds. 

The  charge,  common  as  it  is,  and  certainly  of 
grave  import,  which  stigmatises  this  as  a  super- 
ficial, negative,  or  cold  belief,  is  utterly  false.  The 
most  spiritual  people  1  have  ever  known  were  formed 
under  its  influence,  and  in  no  Communion  have  the 
fruits  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  been  more 


22 


t! 


largely  exhibited  than  in  ours ;  —  we  say  it  not  in  vain 
boasting,  but  in  justice  to  the  cause  of  truth.  It  is  a 
calumny,  though  it  be  on  many  lips,  to  affirm  that 
this  is  not  a  religion  by  which  men  may  be  prepared 
to  die,  or  in  which  they  can  meet  death  with  Christian 
hope.  Thousands  and  thousands  have  gone  down  to 
the  grave  in  the  full  conviction  of  this  faith,  and  when 
sensible  that  the  springs  of  life  were  wearing  out, 
have  calmly  waited  as  those  who  "  knew  in  whom 
they  had  believed."  Lives  adorned  with  the  beauty 
of  holiness  have  been  closed  in  the  serenity  of  a  relig- 
ious trust,  and  characters  which  had  withstood  the 
assaults  of  temptation  have  been  found  more  than 
able  to  cope  with  the  surprise  and  terror  of  death,  for 
to  them  death,  under  whatever  circumstances  it  may 
have  approached,  has  brought  neither  terror  nor  sur- 
prise. If  any  one  ask  for  evidence  of  the  sufficiency 
of  our  views  of  religion  for  all  the  exigencies  of  man 
as  a  sinner  or  an  immortal  being,  amidst  the  vicis- 
situdes of  an  earthly  condition  or  the  anticipations  of 
a  righteous  judgment,  we  may  point  him  to  the 
examples  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  whom  to  name 
would  in  the  one  case  be  superfluous,  and  in  the  other 
might  be  indelicate ;  and  we  leave  to  his  own  mind 
our  vindication  from  the  groundless  charges  under 
which  we  labor. 

In  the  capacities  and  wants  of  human  nature,  in  the 
general  tone  and  express  declarations  of  Scripture, 
and  in  the  eifects  produced  on  character  and  life,  we 
discover  reasons  for  accepting  Unitarian  Christianity 
rather  than  any  of  the  forms  of  religious  belief  which 
prevail  around  us.     Are  they  not  substantial  reasons 


^ 
4 


M 


I 


ftff 


23 


for  a  departure  from  popular  persuasions  ?  Do  they 
not  justifV  UH  in  maintaining  Hcparutn  institutions  of 
worHhip  .  VVc  cannot  concur  with  otiioi  j»nrtions  of 
the  Church  in  adopting  opinions  winch  thoy  regard  as 
essential  to  tiie  vitahty  of  the  Ciui'<fian  t'uitli.  Is  it  not 
better  tlien,  that  we  have  our  own  religious  services, 
in  wiiich  because  we  "  beUeve,"  we  "  speait "  in  a 
manner  which  nmst  be  unsatisfactory  to  them,  than 
that  we  should  be  in  continual  danger  of  giving  or 
taking  oflcnce  from  the  want  of  sympathy  between  us 
and  our  fellow-worshippers  ?  While  we  atiirm  that 
the  essential  principles  of  religion,  the  great  and  vital 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  are  held  in  common  by  us  r.ad 
various  other  Christian  sects,  we  neither  mean  nor 
wish  to  conceal  the  dilfcrences  which  separate  us 
from  them.  We  pronounce  these  differences  import- 
ant, and  we  believe  that  the  cause  of  both  truth  and 
charity  will  be  promoted  by  a  calm  recognition  of 
them.  In  what  remains  of  this  discourse  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  present  those  differences  between  ourselves 
and  others,  which  most  clearly  mark  our  position  in 
the  community. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  as  Unitarian  Christians  we 
differ  from  unbelievers  of  every  class  and  name  —  in 
our  doctrine  concerning  Christ.  They  deny  his  super- 
natural mission,  if  not  his  moral  excellence.  We 
believe  in  both  the  one  and  the  other,  —  in  the  perfec- 
tion of  his  character  and  the  Divine  authority  of  his 
teaching.  To  us  he  is  the  representative  of  God, 
speaking  in  his  name  and  reflecting  his  glory.  We 
hold  it  to  be  our  privilege  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  this 
heavenly  Master;    accounting  it  a  higher  office  to 


rt' 


24 


listen  reverently  to  him,  than  to  occupy  the  proudest 
chair  of  philosophy  or  the  most  despotic  throne  on 
earth.  Unitarian  Christianity  has  no  affinity  with 
unbelief.  They  belong  to  opposite  poles  of  expe- 
rience. Infidelity,  whatever  form  it  may  take,  from 
the  coarseness  of  the  scoffer  to  the  sophistry  of  the 
skeptic,  meets  with  no  favor  at  our  hands.  We  treat 
it  justly,  as  we  would  treat  everybody  and  everything, 
be  it  man  or  devil,  error  or  vice ;  but  we  can  be- 
stow on  it  only  our  pity,  our  condemnation,  or  our 
counsel.  We  gratefully  accept  the  records  of  the 
Saviour's  life,  and  follow  him  in  holy  admiration  from 
Bethlehem  to  Calvary,  exclaiming  as  we  hearken  to 
his  words  —  "  this  is  one  who  speaks  as  having  au- 
thority ; "  as  we  behold  his  wonderful  works,  —  "  who 
could  do  these  miracles,  except  God  were  with  him ;  " 
and  as  we  gaze  upon  his  last  suffering,  —  "  truly  this 
was  the  Son  of  God."  We  will  not  be  seduced  from 
our  faith  by  the  ingenious  theories  or  mystical  dis- 
course of  some  who  affect  to  honor  Jesus  while  they 
throw  suspicion  over  his  whole  history.  We  cannot 
divorce  the  history  from  the  Divine  influence  which  it 
conveys.  Spiritual  Christianity  needs  historical  Chris- 
tianity as  its  basis.  To  separate  the  former  from  the 
latter,  is  as  if  we  withdrew  from  the  towers  and  spires 
of  a  lofty  cathedral  the  support  of  the  foundation 
which  enables  them  to  soar  upwards  in  their  graceful 
beauty.  Of  coarser  material  may  that  foundation  be 
made  and  be  partly  buried  in  the  earth,  but  its  solid 
strength  uphold?  die  walls  out  of  which  those  lighter 
creations  of  art  spring  towards  the  skies.  So  must 
the  loftiest  aspirations  of  faith  spring  from  convictions 


25 


\ 


that  rest  on  the  firm  basis  of  the  Gospel  history.  We 
repel  the  charge  of  promoting  or  countenancing  infi- 
delity. We  warn  those  whose  hearts  are  set  in  this 
direction  of  the  peril  they  run ;  we  entreat  those  who 
have  sought  this  as  a  refuge  from  superstition  to  leave 
it  for  the  stronghold  of  a  Scriptural  faith ;  and  shall 
we,  because  we  cannot  join  in  heaping  opprobrious 
terms  upon  the  unbeliever  or  in  pursuing  him  with 
maledictions,  be  accused  of  secret  agreement  with 
him  ?  Our  language  is,  "  there  is  none  other  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be 
saved"  but  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ;  can  the  most 
unscrupulous  ingenuity  pervert  this  language  into  a 
symbol  of  unbelief? 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  Trinitarians 
of  every  Communion  —  in  our  doctrine  concerning 
God.  We  adopt  no  such  expressions  as  "  Triune 
God,"  "blessed  and  holy  Trinity,"  "three  persons 
in  one  God."  We  find  no  such  expressions  in  the 
Bible.  There,  as  I  have  said,  we  read  only  of  the 
Divine  unity.  We  do  not  meet  with  a  line  or  a  word 
which  represents  Christ  as  sharing  supreme  deity 
with  the  Father.  We  do  not  read  of  a  double  nature 
in  him,  which  enabled  him  to  equivocate  without  a 
sacrifice  of  truth  ;  —  a  moral,  and  literal  impossibility, 
is  it  not  ?  We  say  with  all  confidence  that  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  is  either  unintelligible  or  self-con- 
tradictory, and  that  in  either  case  it  cannot  be  a  sub- 
ject of  revelation.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce 
it  injurious  in  its  effects  upon  devotion,  and  pernicious 
in  its  connexion  with  morality.  W^e  trace  its  history 
back  to  the  admixture  of  an  impure  philosophy  with 
4 


26 


the  primitive  faitli  of  the  Church.  And  when  we 
are  reminded  that  it  is  now  included  in  the  faith  of 
nearly  all  Christendom,  we  answer,  first,  that  if  the 
truth  of  opinions  be  determined  by  majorities,  Chris- 
tianity must  cower  before  Paganism,  and  Protestant- 
ism humble  itself  before  the  majesty  of  Rome ;  and 
secondly,  that  the  variety  of  explanations  which  have 
been  given  by  the  advocates  of  this  tenet  is  a  sufficient 
proof  that  the  majority  of  the  Christian  Church  are 
not  agreed  in  any  interpretation,  and  since  we  cannot 
find  it  in  the  Bible,  we  may  at  least  defer  a  belief  in  it 
till  they  who  esteem  it  so  important  have  decided  what 
it  is  which  they  wish  us  to  believe. 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  all  of  the 
Presbyterian  or  Congregational  name  who  adopt  Cal- 
vinistic  standards  of  faith  —  in  our  doctrine  concerning 
man.  We  look  upon  him  as  fallen  from  his  state  of 
primeval  innocence.  Observation  and  consciousness 
tell  us  that  he  is  corrupt.  But  not  by  nature.  We 
cannot  shut  our  eyes  on  human  depravity,  but  we 
can  believe  neither  in  natural  nor  in  total  depravity. 
If  man  comes  into  life  with  a  nature  wholly  inclined  to 
evil,  where  is  his  guilt  in  obeying  the  necessity  under 
which  he  is  placed  of  doing  evil  ?  As  soon  should  I 
think  of  charging  guilt  on  the  mountains  whose  bleak 
sides  are  by  the  ordinance  of  the  Creator  smitten  with 
the  desolation  of  an  almost  perpetual  winter,  because 
they  do  not  exhibit  the  verdure  of  early  spring.  If 
man  can  only  choose  and  commit  sin,  where  is  his 
freedom,  or  where  his  responsibleness  ?  What  folly  to 
speak  to  him  of  duty !  What  injustice  to  pass  upon 
him  a  sentence  of  condemnation  !     I  care  not  for  nice 


27 


I 


distinctions  between  natural  and  moral  inability.  Ina- 
bility is  inability,  and  what  a  man  cannot  do,  it  is 
worse  than  idle  to  require  him  to  do.  If  the  dogma  of 
natural  depravity  be  opposed  to  common  sense,  the 
idea  of  total  depravity  is  irreconcilable  with  facts. 
There  is  not  a  being  on  earth  wholly  depraved  —  with- 
out any  good  in  him.  Nero,  demon  as  he  was,  had 
some  humanity  left.  Vitellius,  beast  as  he  was,  could 
not  drown  his  whole  nature  in  sensuality.  Neither 
the  cannibalism  of  New  Zealand  nor  the  horrors  of  the 
French  revolution  reveal  to  us  unmitigated  atrocity.. 
In  the  worst  men  there  are  secret  qualities  that  need 
only  the  right  sort  of  collision  with  circumstances  to 
bring  them  out  to  our  admiration,  as  from  the  hard 
and  black  flint  sparks  of  light  may  be  struck  by  proper 
means.  Man  is  a  sinner  —  call  him  so,  be  he  clothed 
with  purple  or  beg  in  rags ;  and  sin  is  spiritual  suicide, 
by  slower  or  quicker  methods  —  so  describe  it, 
whether  before  Herod  in  his  palace,  or  the  Pharisee 
in  the  temple,  or  the  most  abandoned  profligate  in  the 
foulest  den  of  iniquity.  Call  them  all  to  repent,  alike 
by  the  mercies  and  the  terrors  of  the  Lord.  "  Cry 
aloud,  spare  not,"  and  prove  yourself  faithful  as  a 
minister  of  God  to  guilty  mortals.  But  say  not  that 
man  is  only  vile.  Commit  not  thai;  sacrilege,  for  it  is 
God's  work  which  you  abuse.  See  in  that  wreck  of 
humanity,  as  in  a  noble  ship  which  the  waves  have 
swept  till  it  looks  only  like  a  worthless  hulk,  much 
which  is  sound,  enough  even  to  authorise  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  restored  to  its  former  bearing.  The 
sinner  is  a  man,  and  in  that  title  if  he  have  not  the 
pledge  of  his  redemption,  he  has  what  for  a  free  and 


28 


accountable  being  is  better,  the  proof  of  its   possi- 
bility. 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  the  self- 
styled  Orthodox  of  this  and  other  lands  —  in  our  doc- 
trine concerning  the  atonement.  We  believe  in  an 
atonemen*,  and  in  i/te  atonement ;  in  an  atonement 
needed  by  every  sinner,  by  which  he  shall  be  recon- 
ciled to  God,  and  in  the  atonement  of  which  Christ  is 
the  instrument,  by  bringing  the  sinner  to  God,  that 
he  may  be  forgiven  and  justified.  Nay,  more ;  we 
.believe  that  the  atonement  was  the  great  object  of 
Christ's  mission,  even  as  he  said,  "  the  Son  of  man  is 
come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost,"  and 
that  in  this  purpose  we  find  the  solution  of  the  mystery 
which  overhangs  his  cross.  But  we  cannot  —  and  we 
thank  God  that  we  do  not  —  believe  in  a  vicarious 
atonement  which  would  subvert  our  notions  of  justice, 
and  teach  us  to  look  upon  the  Heavenly  Father  as  an 
Infinite  Despot.  We  must  use  strong  language  on 
this  point.  We  reject  with  abhorrence  a  doctrine 
which  despoils  the  Divine  character  of  its  glory,  and 
takes  from  the  Divine  law  its  most  urgent  sanctions. 
We  can  call  that  a  gracious  Providence  which  hides 
instruction  beneath  chastisement,  but  we  cannot  call 
that  a  revelation  of  grace  which  shows  us  the  Sove- 
reign of  the  universe  refusing  forgiveness  to  contrite 
offenders  except  on  conditions  which  they  are  utterly 
unable  to  fulfil,  yet  which  are  held  to  be  fulfilled  by  a 
technical  evasion  that  would  be  sanctioned  by  no 
court  of  justice  in  the  civilized  world.  Our  doctrine 
of  the  atonement  is  a  doctrine  of  parental  love ;  the 
popular  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  if  it  were  not  con- 


29 


\ 


nected  with  the  Divine  Name,  we  should  describe  as 
a  doctrine  of  cunning  tyranny.  Such,  I  am  con- 
strained to  say,  painful  as  is  the  association,  is  the  light 
under  which  it  seems  to  me  to  present  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  that  this 
dogma  is  set  forth  as  the  sinner's  only  ground  of  hope. 
Strange  affirmation !  And  yet  stranger  blindness,  that 
cannot  see  the  invitation  of  a  free  mercy  illuminat- 
ing every  page  of  the  New  Testament.  Mercy,  oh 
how  much  needed  by  man,  how  freely  exercised  by 
God !  Let  not  the  condition  of  man  be  mistaken  by 
the  sinner,  let  not  the  character  of  God  be  misrepre- 
sented by  the  theologian. 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  members  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Communion  —  in  our  doctrine 
respecting  authority  in  matters  of  religion.  The  prin- 
ciple towards  which  all  the  ideas  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic gravitate,  is  the  Church.  It  is  to  this  that  he 
adheres  with  most  tenacity,  for  in  giving  up  this  he 
thinks  he  gives  up  everything.  As  he  reduces  this 
principle  to  practice,  he  makes  the  Church  the  infalli- 
ble interpreter  of  Scripture  and  expounder  of  truth. 
The  Church  is  the  uUimate  authority,  whom  it  is 
fatal  sin  to  disobey  or  distrust.  Heresy  therefore 
(which  is  only  dissent  from  the  Church)  becomes 
impiety,  and  may  be  punished  as  spiritual  treason. 
Now  we  believe  in  the  Church ;  but  it  is  the  Church 
of  the  saints  who  are  compacted  into  one  body  "  by 
that  which  every  joint  supplieth,"  and  not  the  hierar- 
chy who  are  only  members  in  the  body.  We  believe 
in  no  infallibility  residing  on  earth,  because  we  say, 
—  making  a  statement  in  moral  arithmetic  which  any 


30 


child  can  understand,  —  that  no  aggregation  of  fallible 
judgments  can  make  an  infallible  guide.  We  pro- 
test against  this  claim  of  the  Romish  Church,  it  is 
her  cardinal  vice.  We  might  bear  with  her  other 
errors ;  but  this  assumption  of  the  attributes  of  the 
Most  High,  with  all  the  terrible  consequences  which 
it  involves,  we  may  not  regard  even  with  patience. 
It  invades  the  sanctuary  of  man's  freedom,  and  scales 
the  throne  of  God's  sovereignty.  It  has  but  one  word 
to  express  the  conditions  of  eternal  life ;  and  that  is, 
submit  —  submit  to  the  Church  in  its  interpretation  of 
truth  and  its  declaration  of  d'jty.  This,  with  God's 
grace,  we  will  never  do.  We  will  submit,  not  to  the 
Church,  but  to  him  who  is  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
and  the  only  spiritual  Head  whom  its  members  should 
acknowledge.  Christ  has  called  us  to  liberty,  not  to 
bondage.  He  has  taught  us  what  to  believe,  and  on 
us  lies  the  responsibleness  of  construing  his  instruc- 
tions in  their  right  sense.  We  can  let  no  man  nor 
body  of  men  frame  a  creed  for  us.  It  is  not  the  right 
of  private  judgment  alone,  which  we  defend.  It  is 
the  duty  of  private  judgment,  which  we  dare  not  neg- 
lect. We  must  think  and  read  for  ourselves.  If  we 
mistake  the  meaning  of  the  written  word,  on  our 
souls  will  lie  the  peril.  It  is  a  fearful  responsibleness 
which  is  committed  to  us.  We  know  this  —  we  hope 
we  feel  it.  If  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  warped  by 
passion  or  prejudice,  by  self-will  or  self-interest,  we 
shall  stand  condemned.  But  if  we  use  no  means  of 
ascertaining  "  the  mind  of  the  spirit,"  except  as  we 
passively  yield  to  others'  dictation,  we  shall  incur  still 
heavier  guilt.    We  are  the  Lord's  freemen,  and  how 


31 


can  we  be  called  loyal  to  him  so  long  as  we  enter  into 
voluntary  servitude  to  any  other  master  ? 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  ditt'er  from  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  Episcopal  Church  —  in  our  doctrine  con- 
cerning the  ministry.  We  are  far  from  denying  the 
need  of  a  separate  order  of  men  who  shall  give  them- 
selves to  study  and  preaching,  that  they  may  be  able 
to  convince  the  gainsayer  and  instruct  and  exhort  the 
believers.  We  perceive  that  such  a  class  as  the  clergy 
are  demanded  by  the  situation  of  the  Church  in  the 
midst  of  the  world,  as  well  as  by  its  internal  wants, 
and  we  doubt  not  that  the  ministry  was  intended  by 
Christ  to  be  perpetual.  But  we  look  with  no  respect 
on  the  claims  which  are  advanced  in  behalf  of  the 
clergy  of  a  particular  church  over  other  ministers. 
We  find  it  difficult  to  express  our  amazement  at  the 
effrontery  of  a  church,  which,  itself  a  fragment  of  the 
universal  Church  and  a  secession  from  a  larger  frag- 
ment, presumes  to  consider  the  ministers  of  other 
portions  as  intruders  into  the  sacred  office.  It  would 
be  ridiculous,  if  it  were  not  insolent.  We  do  not  call 
in  question  the  claims  of  the  English  Church  to  the 
admiration  of  its  members,  for  if  they  find  in  its  liturgy 
or  discipline  what  enkindles  their  admiration,  we 
would  not  let  our  preference  for  a  simpler  worship 
lead  us  to  forget  the  original  diversity  of  mental 
wants ;  but  to  admit  her  argument,  drawn  from  Scrip- 
ture, in  favor  of  the  three  orders,  or  her  argument, 
not  drawn  from  Scripture  nor  from  any  other  source 
except  fancy,  in  favor  of  the  Apostolical  succession,  is 
what  we  cannot  do  without  surrendering  our  common 
sense. 


32 


^ 


As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  the  Baptist 
denomination  —  m  our  doctrine  concerning  ordinan- 
ces. The  ordinances  we  value.  They  are  beautiful 
symbols  and  efficacious  means.  We  prize  them,  and 
use  them.  But  we  would  be  slow  rather  than  eager 
to  exaggerate  their  importance.  And  we  cannot 
easily  understand  the  delusion  which  causes  intelhgent 
and  excellent  people  to  raise  the  mere  form  of  a  form, 
a  method  of  a  means,  into  a  condition  of  church  fel- 
lowship. We  should  as  soon  think  of  making  an 
exact  agreement  in  pronunciation  indispensable  to  the 
interchange  of  kind  offices  on  a  journey.  It  is  not 
sufficient  to  say,  that  compliance  with  the  letter  of  the 
Master's  direction  is  of  the  first  importance  ;  because, 
to  pass  over  the  question  whether  the  words  of  Scrip- 
ture must  bear  the  construction  which  is  put  upon 
them  by  the  members  of  this  denomination,  it  shows  a 
grievous  misapprehension  of  the  genius  of  our  religion 
and  the  mind  of  its  Founder,  to  care  more  for  the 
letter  than  for  the  spirit  of  his  teaching.  It  might  be 
difficult  to  determine  which  makes  the  greater  mistake 
in  his  use  of  Scripture,  the  literalist  or  the  allegorizer. 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  the  Metho- 
dist Connexion  —  in  our  doctrine  concerning  religious 
excitement.  We  do  not  decry  all  excitement.  On 
the  contrary,  we  preach  that  men  should  be  interested 
in  religion  as  in  everything  else  of  moment,  and  that 
they  should  be  more  interested  in  this  than  in  any- 
thing else,  because  this  is  supremely  important.  We 
like  earnestness  and  fervor  in  religion,  if  they  be  held 
under  the  restraint  of  principle  and  propriety.  Per- 
haps we  have  not  as  much  of  these  qualities  as  it  is 


3,3 


desirable  we  should  have.  Our  aversion  to  one 
extreme  may  have  driven  us  towards  the  other.  But 
we  cannot  admit  that  religion  consists  in  excitement, 
nor  that  its  best  beginning  is  made  in  a  tempest  of 
feeling.  We  do  not  believe  that  God  takes  the  soul  by 
storm.  A  change  of  heart  is  not  the  work  of  an  hour, 
as  you  may  change  the  course  of  a  stream  by  digging 
across  a  belt  of  ground  which  has  turned  its  waters 
from  a  straight  channel.  Rather  as  the  torrent  which 
has  been  dashing  down  the  hills  and  exhibiting  the 
wildest  disorder  in  its  descent,  gradually  subsides  into 
the  stream  which  flows  quietly  in  a  broader  and 
deeper  current  through  the  fields,  so  the  impetuous 
and  disorderly  passions  are  gradually  subdued  into  a 
tranquil  and  useful  character.  We  doubt  the  value 
of  those  occasions  of  which  so  much  use  is  made,  to 
convert  the  sinner  by  the  force  of  sympathy.  Regen- 
eration, as  we  understand  it,  is  a  secret  work,  and 
often  of  slow  growth,  though  its  results  be  great  and 
manifest.  We  dislike  mechanical  methods,  as  we  dis- 
trust stereotyped  evidences  of  religion. 

As  Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  the  Univer- 
salist  body  —  in  our  doctrine  concerning  retribution. 
They  agree  with  us  in  regard  to  the  supremacy  and 
sole  deity  of  the  Father ;  and  many,  doubtless,  believe 
that  the  effects  of  transgression  will  extend  beyond 
this  life.  But  a  still  larger  number,  probably,  hold  that 
sin  entails  no  consequences  after  death,  while  all  who 
adopt  this  name  find  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  promise  of  a  final  restoration  of  all  men  to 
virtue  and  happiness.  Now,  while  there  are  different 
shades  of  opinion  among  us  as  to  the  future  state  of 
6 


34 


the  wicked,  no  one,  I  presume,  would  adduce  the  ulti- 
mate salvation  of  the  whole  human  race  as  the  great 
revelation  of  Christianity,  and  all  of  us  would  reject 
any  statement  of  belief  which  excluded  the  idea  of 
future  retribution.  To  us  the  doctrine  which  limits  the 
consequences  of  a  sinful  life  to  our  present  existence, 
appears  equally  unphilosophical  and  unscriptural. 
It  overlooks  the  constitution  of  our  nature,  and  tor- 
tures the  language  of  the  Bible  into  senses  which  only 
the  greatest  violence  could  ever  make  it  bear.  Its 
influence  we  should  deplore,  as  its  prevalence  we 
must  deprecate.  We  reason  with  the  sinner  of  "  a 
judgment  to  come,"  and  entreat  him  as  he  would 
avoid  shame  and  suffering  in  the  world  to  which  he  is 
going,  to  turn  from  his  evil  ways  and  cleanse  his  heart ; 
for  the  character  he  shall  bear  into  that  world  must 
decide  the  condition  on  which  he  shall  there  enter. 
Death  will  not  change  the  character.  If  we  have 
chosen  to  live  without  God  here,  we  cannot  dwell  in 
the  joy  of  his  presence  hereafter.  Fearful  beyond  all 
other  description  is  the  view  which  we  take  of  the  lot 
of  the  impenitent,  for  we  say  that  material  images  do 
but  faintly  represent  spiritual  loss  and  anguish ;  and 
as  certain  as  is  another  state  of  existence  do  we  make 
the  experience  of  its  retributive  scenes,  for  this  expe- 
rience follows  from  the  laws  of  our  being,  and  is 
announced  by  the  warnings  and  exhortations  of  Scrip- 
ture. 

But  enough  of  this  unpleasant,  though  necessary 
description  of  the  differences  between  us  and  our  fel- 
low Christians.  It  would  be  a  far  more  agreeable 
task,  for  which  I  have  not  time,  to  portray  the  features 


36 


of  common  resemblance.  They  were  indicated  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  discourse,  when  speaking  of  those 
truths  which  wo  embrace,  but  which  so  far  from 
desiring  to  confine  to  ourselves,  we  rejoice  to  believe 
are  held  by  us  in  common  with  muhitudes,  if  not  with 
all  those  who  take  the  same  motto  with  us,  — '  Christ 
and  his  cause.'  And  in  this  reception,  by  the  most 
divided  portions  of  the  Church,  of  the  truths  on  which 
we  lean,  do  we  find  an  argument  to  increase  our  con- 
fidence in  them  as  the  only  essential  truths  of  Christ- 
ianity,—  so  plain  that  they  cannot  be  mistaken,  so 
important  that  few,  or  none  have  been  able  to  deny 
them  a  place  in  their  theology.  There  is  however  one 
example  of  agreement  between  us  and  other  Christ- 
ians, which  I  am  anxious  to  notice^  as  presenting  yet 
one  other  difference  which  we  would  press  on  the 
consideration  of  those  from  whom  it  distinguishes  us. 
In  this  instance  they  from  whom  we  differ  are  not 
Christians  except  in  name.  Perhaps  we  arc  no  more. 
Then  God  forgive  us !  for  we  ought  to  be  immeasura- 
bly more.  And  this  is  what  I  wish  to  say ;  —  that  as 
Unitarian  Christians,  we  differ  from  the  irreligious  of 
every  class,  whether  they  be  the  openly  immoral  or 
such  as  immerse  themselves  in  the  cares  of  the  world, 
the  profane  or  the  thoughtless  —  in  our  doctrine  con- 
cerning righteousness.  For  we  hold  that  this  is  the 
one  thing  needful,  and  that  whatever  else  a  man  risks 
or  loses,  he  must  not  let  go  the  integrity  of  his  soul ; 
which  he  can  keep  only  by  strenuous  obedience  to 
every  law  of  the  outward  and  inward  life.  A  man  is 
not  true  to  himself,  nor  faithful  to  Christ,  nor  thankful 
to  God,  who  does  not  purify  himself  from  sin,  and 


'M\ 


consecrate  both  body  and  soul  to  the  execution  of  the 
Divine  will. 

We  preach  a  doctrine  of  ri<,'hteousness  which  cov- 
ers nil  human  relations  and  penetrates  to  the  inmost 
recesses  of  our  being.     It  is  not  a  superficial  propri- 
ety, nor  a  conventional  rectitude  which  wo  demand, 
but  thorough,  genuine   goodness.     A  man   must  be 
filled  with  this  goodness,  just  as  the  tree  is  pervaded 
from  its  root  and  its  heart  to  its  outmost  twig  with 
the  vital  fluid.     The  life  which  is  in  us,  the  everlast- 
ing life,  must  penetrate  and  vivify  our  whole  nature. 
Till    this   is   our    experience,   we    do   but   partially 
realize  ourselves.     We  are  not  whole  men  in  our  own 
consciousness.     The  only  true    and  complete  man 
is  he  who  bears  the  closest  possible  resemblance  to 
Christ.    They  who  live  for  earthly  vanities,  or  they 
who  pursue  their  worldly  labor  as   if  this  were   all 
they  need  think  of,  so  far  from  having  reached  their 
being's  end  and  €iim,  have  not  begun  to  comprehend 
it,  and  the  great  benefit  of  Christ's  mission  is  still 
unknown  to  them.    When  we  speak  of  righteousness, 
we  do  not  mean  that  which  is  partial,  but  that  which 
is  comprehensive.    How  can  a  man  be  right  who  does 
not  place  himself  in  just  relations  to  God,  with  whom 
his  relations  are  more  important  than  those  he  sustains 
towards  all  other  beings  ?    Righteousness  then,  as  we 
understand  it,  includes  piety  not  less  than  morality, 
and  the  character  not  less  than  the  behavior.     So  was 
it  understood  by  our  Lord,  when  he  said,  "  Blessed  are 
they  who  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for 
they  shall  be  filled."    They  « shall  be  filled ; "  but 
those  who  do  not  desire  this,  their  great  good,  with  an 


37 


impatience  like  that  of  the  starving  man  for  food,  they 
shall  ho  empty  —  empty  of  good  —  empty  of  that 
which  alone  has  permanent  value  —  empty  of  the  real 
life.  This  is  our  doctrine  concerning  the  present; 
and  with  this  doctrine^  upon  our  hearts  we  are  almost 
ready  to  say,  let  othoi\s  discourse  of  the  future,  for 
hero  we  have  a  theme  so  grand  and  vast  that  it 
exceeds  all  our  powers  to  treat  it  worthily.  With  this 
doctrine  let  Unitarian  Christianity  go  into  the  world 
and  entreat  and  adjure  men  to  turn  from  the  idols 
which  their  own  hearts  have  set  up  in  the  se  at 
places  of  their  worship,  to  Him  whom  those  hearts 
should  confess  and  adore  and  love.  Let  it  go  into  the 
world  with  this  doctrine,  and  let  the  commentary  be 
furnished  by  us  in  the  growing  holmess  of  our  lives, 
and  our  faith  will  leap  from  crag  to  crag  of  society,  and 
dart  down  into  its  lowly  coverts,  and  bathe  its  whole 
expanse  with  a  divine  influence,  even  as  the  morn- 
ing light  glances  and  spreads  and  rests  over  the  whole 
landscape. 

We  have,  within  such  limits  as  the  time  permits  and 
prescribes,  considered  the  questions  which  we  pro- 
posed to  answer,  —  having  endeavored  to  exhibit  the 
truths  of  Unitarian  Christianity,  the  grounds  of  our 
preference  of  this  over  other  systems  of  faith,  and  the 
differences  which  distinguish  its  disciples  from  other 
considerable  portions  of  the  community.  The  result 
must  be,  to  convince  every  candid  hearer  that  we 
have  a  positive  faith  —  a  faith  full  enough,  plain 
enough,  authoritative  enough  for  all  the  purposes  for 
which  a  religious  faith  can  be  needed.  We  "  believe, 
and  therefore  speak."    Our  profession  of  Unitarian 


38 


Christianity  is  the  fruit  of  an  intelhgent  and  cordial 
reception  of  its  truths.  We  beheve  that  these  truths 
constitute  "  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God," 
and  therefore  we  give  utterance  to  the  convictions 
with  which  our  minds  are  laden.  Believing,  we  ought 
to  speak.  Silence  under  such  convictions  would  be 
ingratitude  towards  God  and  unfaithfulness  towards 
man.  It  would  be  a  violation  of  solemn  trusts  and 
neglect  of  sacred  interests.  It  is  our  duty  to  diffuse 
the  opinions  which  we  think  just  to  God  and  benefi- 
cial to  man.  By  the  speech  of  the  lips  and  the  elo- 
quence of  the  character  should  we  proclaim  them 
before  men.  And  all  the  more  zealous  should  we  be, 
if  we  have  embraced  unpopular  opinions.  What  are 
our  convictions  worth,  if  they  will  not  breathe  into  us 
something  at  least  of  the  martyr  spirit  ?  What  is  our 
attachment  to  them  worth,  if  it  will  not  sustain  us  in 
confronting  the  prejudice  of  the  multitude  ?  He  is 
the  true  believer,  who  is  not  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  let 
it  be  known  that  he  has  espoused  the  cause  which  he 
has  in  fact  taken  to  his  heart.  I  would  not  commend 
a  busy  proselytism,  but  frank  and  manly  and  Chris- 
tian adherence  to  our  faith  amidst  opposition  or  oblo- 
quy is  the  course  which  a  wise  policy  unites  with  self- 
respect  in  urging  us  to  adopt.  Skepticism  we  disown, 
bigotry  we  abhor,  and  affectation  we  despise ;  but 
for  truth  and  freedom  and  holiness  we  will  speak,  in 
word  and  deed. 

The  society  who  have  erected  this  building  have 
then  done  well,  in  the  work  which  they  have  now 
brought  to  a  completion  more  successful  even  than 
their  hopes.     It  is  a  day  of  rejoicing  with  them,  and 


39 


with  no  more  acceptable  sacrifice  can  they  for  the  first 
time  approach  this  altar  than  the  joy  and  gratitude 
which  they  feel.  The  edifice  which  they  have  raised 
stands,  in  its  chaste  beauty,  a  monument  of  their  exer- 
tions to  secure  for  themselves  and  afford  to  others 
the  opportunities  of  a  Scriptural  worship ;  as  they  have 
indicated  in  the  reference  to  the  sacred  volume  which 
they  have  placed  over  its  entrance.  And  now  what 
remains  but  that  we  dedicate  this  house  to  the  pur- 
poses contemplated  by  its  builders  ?  To  religion  and 
its  uses  we  dedicate  it  —  to  the  worship  and  gl  "y  of 
the  one  living  and  true  God.  To  Christianity  and  its 
influences  we  dedicate  it  —  to  the  exposition  and 
enforcement  of  that  Gospel  which  is  the  rule  of  hfe 
and  the  charter  of  salvation.  To  the  well-being  of 
man  we  dedicate  it  —  in  his  preparation  for  the  duties 
of  this  life  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  life  to  come. 
To  truth  and  love  and  peace  we  dedicate  it,  and  invite 
them  to  dwell  within  its  walls  as  the  guardians  of  its 
sanctity.  To  holy  prayer  we  dedicate  it ;  to  religious 
instruction  we  dedicate  it ;  to  sacred  song  we  dedicate 
it.  Here  may  devotion  breathe  its  sublimest  hopes, 
and  wisdom  utter  its  choicest  counsels,  and  music 
pour  forth  its  sweetest  strains.  Here  may  our  friend 
long  be  permitted  to  refresh  his  spirit  in  the  labors  of 
the  sanctuary.  Long  may  this  memorial  of  Christian 
zeal  stand,  to  gather  many  into  the  sympathies  of  fra- 
ternal union.  As  in  tranquil  dignity  it  looks  down 
upon  the  crowded  ways  of  life  at  its  feet,  may  it  seem 
to  speak  of  a  higher  and  calmer  existence.  Here 
may  an  influence  begin,  that  shall  be  extended  through 
the  city,  the  neighborhood,  the  province,  in  which,  in 


40 


respect  to  the  peculiar  character  which  we  have  seen 
to  belong  to  this  house,  it  now  stands  alone ;  an  influ- 
ence that  shall  become  deeper  as  well  as  wider  with 
every  year  of  its  exercise.  We  enjoy  the  smile  of 
Heaven  upon  our  work  of  to-day  in  the  bland  sun- 
shine which  has  softened  every  unfriendly  element  of 
the  season.  Let  us  interpret  it  as  the  promise,  in  our 
spiritual  husbandry,  of  a  fruitful  summer  and  an  abun- 
dant harvest.  May  souls  here  grow  into  a  ripeness  for 
a  better  world.  As  the  Father  shall  here  be  worship- 
ped and  the  Son  be  honored,  may  the  spirit  of  grace 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son  descend  in  unseen  influ- 
ences, that  shall  not,  like  the  visible  flames  on  the 
first  Christian  Pentecost,  cease  to  rest  upon  the  breth- 
ren at  their  departure  from  the  place  of  their  assemb- 
ling. And  when  in  the  course  of  time  this  structure 
shall  give  place,  as  we  trust  it  may,  to  one  of  ampler 
dimensions,  may  its  history  be  invested  with  associa- 
tions that  shall  cause  its  remembrance  to  abide  with 
those  who  shall  have  then  entered  the  "  temple  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Father 
Almighty  !  hear  thou  our  desires,  and  grant  them  ful- 
filment. To  thee,  in  the  name  of  thy  dear  Son,  we 
consecrate  these  walls,  these  seats,  this  altar.  Thine 
be  the  glory  of  their  fresh  beauty,  and  thine  the  richer 
glory  of  their  decay ! 


